Published 4:00 am, Saturday, August 25, 2001

2001-08-25 04:00:00 PDT Washington -- The first thing his friends and colleagues mention when asked about Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, whom President Bush picked yesterday to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is an item on his globe-spanning resume: service as commander in chief of the nation's space forces during the late 1990s.

The second thing that seems most memorable is his personality: low-key, down-to-earth, self-effacing and loyal. He is, those people say, the rare four- star who gets his own coffee, repairs his own cars and never speaks out-of- school about his bosses.

Both factors were central to Bush's decision, Pentagon and administration officials said.

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On one hand, space has emerged as a top military priority for Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who have warned about the vulnerability of the nation's satellites. In a major shift from the Clinton administration, space-based lasers for missile defense, new generations of spy satellites and possibly even space bombers are back in vogue at the Pentagon.

"They picked someone who can be a successful advocate for the direction they want to take the department," said Gen. James Jones, the Marine Corps commandant.

On the other hand, Bush favors a certain personality among his senior advisers: straightforward people with whom he gets along easily and who are, above all, unfailingly loyal. That is the Myers style, people who have worked with him say.

"He's not a pound-on-the-table guy," said Gen. Michael Ryan, the Air Force chief of staff, who is close friends with Myers. "He works these issues with his intellect, not necessarily his brawn, even though he is a big guy." Myers is 6 feet 4 inches tall.

Gen. Merrill McPeak, the Air Force chief of staff from 1990 to 1994, said Bush could count on Myers to be a pragmatic troubleshooter who avoids the limelight.

But the very qualities that have helped him climb the bureaucracy have also prompted some analysts to question whether Myers is sufficiently forceful, bold or innovative to bring sweeping changes to the tradition-bound services, as Bush has pledged.

What Myers does have is a resume that makes him seem ideally groomed to serve as this president's top military adviser.

As assistant to the chairman of the joint chiefs in 1996 and 1997, he gained diplomatic experience while advising Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who described him as "a pleasure to work with."

As commander of U.S. forces in Japan from 1993 to 1996, and later as commander of Pacific Air Forces in 1997 and 1998, Myers gained extensive knowledge about China and North Korea, which have become a major focus for Rumsfeld.

And as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the position he holds today, Myers has been the chief uniformed adviser to Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in preparing the Quadrennial Defense Review.

The review, which will be the administration's template for changing the military, has been a source of conflict among Rumsfeld, lawmakers and senior military officers.

Richard Bowman Myers was born on March 1, 1942, in Kansas City, Mo., the son of a hardware store owner.

He went to Kansas State University, majored in mechanical engineering and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps. By the time he graduated in 1965, he had developed a love of flying and became an F-4 fighter pilot in Vietnam.

As chief of space command, Myers oversaw development of the military's computer network defenses.

Experience: Entered the Air Force in 1965 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program; commander of U.S. forces in Japan and the 5th Air Force in Yokota Air Base in Japan, 1993-1996; assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1996 to 1997; commander of U.S. Air Forces in the Pacific, 1997 to 1998; commander of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, 1998-2000; vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spring 2000-present. Has logged more than 4,000 flying hours, including 600 combat hours in the F-4 in Vietnam.

Quote: "In these times of declining budgets and increasing operational demands, we have had to find smarter, better, but cheaper ways of getting the job done." -- Myers, relinquishing command of the Pacific Air Forces.